About a month ago we saw The Grand Budapest Hotel… and loved it! Each scene was a snapshot unto itself. I came across a couple of things that reminded me of the visual feast we enjoyed.
Pop Culture
stories from a typewriter
I’m blogging over at SWWS today about a man with a typewriter and his attempt to connect with strangers through stories he types on the spot. (And there’s just a little about cyber-bullying.) Go check it out! And what about this beauty? Yes please!
my new jam
For the last several weeks I have had one app open almost nonstop on my phone and/or computer: Songza! Goodbye Pandora, I have faithfully listened to you for at least 5 years, but your mixes don’t hold a candle to the concierge service on Songza. (Oh yeah.. and no ads!)
What I love the most about Songza is that you get to choose music by mood (or genre, or activity, or decade, or record store clerk!). And with stations with titles like: Lush Electronic Yoga, 3am Airport, Sadcore Hibernation, Ride Around Shining, & High Heel Power Walk how could I not be intrigued.
Some stations in heavy rotation these days are: Indie Roots Rock, Solo Jazz Guitar, In the Euro Hotel Lounge, Singer-Songwriter Christmas, & Shredding The Slopes (for demo in the studio!). I have already discovered new music that will become a permanent part of my collection. Go download it right now!
don’t make me choose
I’m blogging today over at SWWS about choosing a lifestyle. Ok, not really. But I am trying to decide between a digital and analog product… and the consequences feel huge! You can read about it here.
listening to autumn
Have you downloaded Over the Rhine’s latest (double) album Meet Me At The Edge Of The World yet? If not, do so immediately. It is absolutely, perfectly fall. These two really are the original cool! With this album I feel like I’ve been let in on something personal and intimate. Most folks I know (couples or not) have inside jokes and language that characterizes their relationship. (Anyone who has had to spend time with the hubs an I knows this fact annoyingly well.) Talking to the WSJ about the album’s title Detweiler says, “‘…when the fog rolls in [at their Ohio pre-civil war home], we used to say we felt like we were living on a farm on the edge of the world.'” And with this latest set of music, I feel like they’ve let us in on a little secret about their home…and ultimately their lives. (Listen to a little bit and read the full interview here.)
reading and smirking
While laid up on the couch this weekend, I caught up on some reading. And on the lighter side, here were two things that made me laugh:
The New Yorker chose their winner for their 2013 Eustace Tilley Contest. I love this “Brooklyn Eustace.” You can read the full story here (and see other submissions too.)
And this one is just really funny. #truth
parting thought — jay littman
Proposed billboard-based art project in Los Angeles, CA meant to challenge beauty standards and other accepted values in contemporary culture. — Jay Littman, graphic designer
they know
[photo]
I know all too well that too many corporations know what I’m doing just about all the time, but it’s no less disconcerting when a company admits it. Apparently all my Netflix binges are being monitored…along with what I’m searching for and when I’m searching for it. This is of course supposed to result in better suggestions for me (not somehow be used for marketing purposes), but I tell ya, the movies that are recommended for me seem crazy and I’m not quite sure which algorithm deduced that I would enjoy watching Katy Perry: Part of Me. Check out the full article here.
a well-penned (imaginary) toddler
I love the internet for all sorts of reasons. But last week, I loved it a whole lot more when I saw some quick wit and a sharp tongue being put to good use on Pinterest. Tiffany Beveridge has created a board called “My Imaginary Well-Dressed Toddler Daughter“. Her page utilizes the now ubiquitous high-fashion editorials for children as documentation of her fictional toddler daughter, Quinoa. Hitting on just about every upper-class white person trend, Quinoa is living the high-life. She is the perfectly curated organic-eating, vinyl-listening, photo-styling, sartorial little girl… with damn funny satire to boot. Kudos Mrs. Beveridge… kudos, indeed.
Here are a few of my favorites!
summer stay-at-home movie recommendations
Over the last few weekends we have been ticking away at our Netflix queue, particularly the 900 documentaries we have lined up. Last time we did a binge in a single weekend; perfectly ideal for indoors-only kind of weather.
Up first, Chasing Ice. A behemoth of a project undertaken by National Geographic photography James Balog to document in photographs the physical changes in the worlds largest glaciers over a 5-year period. The end results are stunning. Recommended
Next Up, The House I Live In. If you are at all a child of the 80s then you are familiar with “the war on drugs”. This movie takes a look at said “war” and the repercussions and implications of drug and judicial policy in America over the last three plus decades. My only complaint was that it left me feeling a little hopeless and without a “what you can do about it” solution. However, the official website offers these. (Also, you can check out an interview with the director on The Daily Show here.) Recommended
And finally, Hot Coffee. Think what you will about the infamous lawsuit of a woman suing McDonalds, but this film offers a different side of tort law than what I have been indoctrinated with being a Texan. And basically, as a consumer (of anything) in Texas, you’re screwed if something goes wrong…. you’ve got no very limited rights. Recommended
***disclaimer***
I don’t know why I feel the need to explain myself, but I do. It is clear that each of these documentaries presents one side of an issue. And I am smart enough to know that these topics (and so many others) are very nuanced and have a lot of gray. It’s never black and white and there’s never an easy answer. I would encourage anyone to explore the other side of where they think they stand, or what they have always been told. It may only reaffirm your stance, or hopefully, add a new element to our ever-present pro/con lists. I will just hold to one of my most favorite quotes ever…
